Burg Güssing

About the museum

Burg Güssing was built in 1157 as a fortification on an extinct volcanic cone and is regarded as the oldest castle in Burgenland. After several changes of ownership, King Louis II enfeoffed Franz Batthyány with the castle and lordship on 30 June 1524. In the 16th and 17th centuries the Hungarian magnate family expanded the complex into a masonry fortress against the threat from the east; under Balthasar III and Franz II, Güssing became the main residence, and Adam I founded the Franciscan monastery with the family crypt.

In the 16th and 17th centuries Güssing was also an intellectual centre: the botanist Carolus Clusius did research here, and the printer Manlius ran a printing house. When the castle lost its military importance, it fell into decay in the 18th century, partly because a tax on roofs made its upkeep too expensive. Since 1870 it has belonged to a foundation, which had it restored.

The castle museum in the Hochburg shows the collections of the Batthyány family: ancestral portrait gallery, picture gallery in the former knights’ hall, furnished living rooms with a music room and dining room, sacred art, weapons and, in the cellar, a collection of tin figures, the castle kitchen and a confectionery. Since the 500th anniversary of the enfeoffment, the permanent exhibition “Der Pelikan über Güssing” has told the family’s history at the castle in nine rooms. An inclined lift leads up the castle hill, and in summer the castle courtyard becomes a musical stage.

Highlights

• Oldest castle in Burgenland on an extinct volcano with views as far as the Hungarian plain
• Batthyány ancestral portrait gallery and picture gallery with art from over 400 years
• Music room with a 16th-century chest organ
• Tin figure collection with dioramas of life in the 17th and 18th centuries
• Permanent exhibition “Der Pelikan über Güssing” on the Batthyány family
• Inclined lift up the castle hill

Permanent exhibitions

• Der Pelikan über Güssing – Die Batthyánys auf der Burg – Nine rooms spanning five centuries of the Batthyány family at Burg Güssing, with objects from family ownership and archive pieces, designed in three languages.
• Burgmuseum – Ancestral portrait gallery, picture gallery, furnished living rooms with a music room and dining room, sacred art, and reminders of Güssing as a place of justice and an intellectual centre.
• Zinnfigurensammlung und Burgküche – In the basement, tin figures and dioramas show everyday life and the military in the 17th and 18th centuries, plus the castle kitchen, confectionery and the monastery foundations in southern Burgenland.

Operated by

Stiftung des Weiland Fürst Philipp Batthyany zur Erhaltung der alten Güssinger Burg

Admission & discounts

Payment at the castle ticket office in cash, by credit card or bank card; tour groups can pay the lift fees as a lump sum at the ticket office.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

An inclined lift spares the steep climb up the castle hill. The website gives no information on the accessibility of the museum rooms.

Kids & families

Family ticket €18.

Getting there & parking

From Vienna via the A2, exit Lafnitztal, then about 30 minutes on the B57; from Graz, A2, exit Ilz/Fürstenfeld, then about 30 minutes. Satnav address Batthyany-Straße 10, 7540 Güssing. An inclined lift leads up the castle hill.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant

Castle restaurant Pelikan at the castle (own opening hours, burgrestaurant-pelikan.at).

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Weddings / ceremonies

Civil and church weddings at the castle; the picture gallery is also used for concerts and receptions. Enquiries to office@burgguessing.at.

Plan your visit